For a generation, farmers have taken for granted their most valuable resource, often considering it to be simply ‘dirt’. The focus has been on force-feeding the crop and beating the soil into submission, driven by an ethos of yield over profit, with little respect for the aftermath. Inputs for many have typically increased since the …
The development of soil-release agents and protected forms of phosphate means growers can meet crop needs without having to apply large quantities of TSP, SSP or rock phosphate. Disincentivised by higher prices for phosphate (P) fertiliser Britain’s growers have gradually reduced application rates to the extent that many soils now contain worryingly low levels of …
Long-term fall in phosphate use raises concerns Read More »
April 2023 Edition When Chris asked me to write this article, I gravitated into panic mode because this is a quiet part of the year and I was not sure what to write about, however we seem to have been continuously busy, so I had better fill you in on our out of season activities. …
Steve Holloway puts the case for biology and foliar KSM – potassium solubilising microbes – for a more natural supply of phosphate and a way of reducing the fertiliser bill. For a generation, farmers have taken their most valuable resource for granted, often considering it to be simple dirt. The focus has been on force-feeding …
Home-made compost, massively reduced tillage and determined cover cropping have been central to the single-minded drive to improve the arable sustainability of the Green Horizons Network farm at Salford Lodge, Pitchill just outside Evesham over the past decade. A combination of challenging silty clay land contract-farmed with heavy kit for many years and lighter sandy …
Soil-Centred Worcestershire Sustainability Drive Read More »
